January 7, 2000

the high life, gifts, and stuff

Our picture was in the paper last year, last century. We claimed we'd drink the bottle of wine we were holding to ring in the New Year. If we ever run for political office, I'm sure this will come back on us. "Ms. Ball, is it true that the Petrus was still in your cellar well after Y2K was a year not a bug?"

Well, we didn't drink it to get rid of the evidence, really. We drank it because we don't know what will happen tomorrow. We don't even understand what happened today. That's the empty bottle in the picture, standing by one of my Christmas presents, a chrome French edition Buzz Lightyear Room Guard.

For the record: the wine uncorked beautifully with remarkably little residue. (Mark, our waiter at Zoot, did the job. We left a drink of the wine in the carafe for him.) The flavor was initially cigar box and dusty fruit and typical old Bordeaux. Then it developed a nose and a finish of chocolate truffle. We had a potato, leek and celery soup with vermouth-finished oysters. I had some duck with a port wine reduction and figs and bok choy and quinoa. Forrest had venison finished with Zinfandel. The wine and the food were wonderful. We shared an over-dense chocolate dessert to finish the wine in style.

Our buddy, Celeste, who is artist, film maker, film fest organizer and waitron at Four Seasons came in with boyfriend Eric. I helped her pick a wine, a $22 Rhone. They said it was delicious. Our Bordeaux is fine but the reasonably-priced Syrah/Shiraz from France/Australia are my personal favorites at the moment. I didn't taste it with them, but I'm betting they had big fruit, mellow yet jammy and enjoyed their wine as much as any old Bordeaux. Not that the ways of the wealthy are overrated. Once the belly is full, one needs a variety of experiences to find those that can really satisfy. The truth is that one needs to experience the things one truly rejects. Or embraces for that matter.

On the matter of the Buzz Lightyear. Forrest heard I wanted a room guard. (Buzz can be programmed to object to intruders with a motion detector.) It was just something silly to ask for, that's all. Although, I really do like him. Other gifts I received this Christmas included flamingo socks, a bendy Santa candy holder that was different from the other forty or fifty bendy Santas I have. My favorite gift, I think, was a memory box from Nancy Hise Lilly. She's always telling stories of her life. Telling them in a way that makes me want to write a screenplay about it. In a way that makes me want to learn to write a screenplay to write a screenplay about it. Anyway, that is another story. One I hope to get into in tomorrow's entry.

"Ignorance is degrading only when found in company with riches."

Arthur Schopenhauer